The Butterfly Effect
by imademyfangirl
Summary: After sacrificing herself, and dying in Roxas' arms, Xion is sent back in time to before the beginning. Lost and unsure, she uses her limited knowledge of the future to reach her ultimate goal, destroying Organization XIII. However, in the process, events that shouldn't change are altered, and Xion finds herself in quite the predicament. *358/2 DAYS SPOILERS*
1. Prologue: The End is Only the Beginning

A/N: Hello everyone! So this is a story that has been in the making for a very long time. The inspiration hit me a long time ago, but I never quite got around to writing it. But since its summer vacation, I thought I might as well do something productive. This story will be monstrous in length most likely, so be prepared to be in it for the long haul. As of now, it only covers the first Kingdom Hearts game, but in the far future, it may be expanded to cover Kingdom Hearts 2 as well. There will be no pairings (unless inspiration hits me), and little mentions of romance. This story builds on one of my own personal headcanons regarding the existence of Ventus' heart within Sora's. I hope it doesn't get to confusing! Feel free to PM if you have questions. Lastly, updates will be pretty sporadic. Just a warning! I hope you enjoy it!

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Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, or the characters used in this story. I only own parts of the plot. Anything you recognize most likely does not belong to me.

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Warnings: Spoilers for Kingdom Hearts 1, 2 and 358/2 Days, Major Character Death, and mentions of Violence.

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Summary: After sacrificing herself, and dying in Roxas' arms, Xion is sent back in time to before the beginning. Lost and unsure, she uses her limited knowledge of the future to reach her ultimate goal, destroying Organization XIII. However, in the process, events that shouldn't change are altered, and Xion finds herself in quite the predicament.

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The dark portal closed suddenly as Xion fell to her knees, devoid of all energy. She swayed slightly in the twilight shadow of the clock tower, as if she were merely a blade of grass in the wind.

"Who are you… again?" Roxas spoke hesitantly, clutching his head in pain. His voice broke through the overwhelming pain that threatened to consume her, and brought her back to reality.

'He's forgetting me.' Xion thought monotonously as her blue eyes stared unseeingly at the reddish brown stones that paved the ground.

The sound of Roxas' stumbling footsteps thundered loudly in the eerie silence.

"It's weird. I feel like I'm forgetting something really important." Confusion marred his face as he continued slowly towards Xion's resting place.

'You are forgetting something important.' Xion thought as she raised her eyes to his. 'You're forgetting me.'

"You'll be… better off now… Roxas." She spoke haltingly, as though every word she spoke caused her immeasurable pain. She swayed again and collapsed, the energy necessary to keep her upright failing. As she fell, Xion felt as though she were weightless. Roxas quickly caught her prone body before she connected with the stone paved ground that lay beneath her.

Confusion and concern morphed into panic as Roxas reached an epiphany.

"Am I… the one who did this to you?" His crystal blue eyes were clouded with bewilderment and disorientation.

Xion raised her eyes to meet his again as she spoke with as much force as she was able to muster.

"No," Her voice was quiet, laced with agony, yet somehow it still carried across the empty square.

"It was my choice… to go away now." Xion faltered as she tried her hardest to comfort her best friend.

Roxas' confusion only increased with her words. He was unable to grasp her reasoning behind accepting her own death.

She spoke again, answering his undeclared question.

"Better that, than to do nothing…" Xion shivered in place, as her wounds began to take a visible toll on her body. She was struggling with every word she spoke. "…and let Xemnas have his way…"

"I belong with Sora," She mumbled, barely audible, one small tear trickling down her face, as she fully realized that the end was near. The remaining moments of her life ticked away like the second hands on a clock.

"…and now…" She quivered, as she felt her body beginning to deteriorate.

"I am going back… to be with him…" She looked up at Roxas as she spoke, a small reassuring smile forming on her face.

Roxas kneeled, still cradling her in his arms, and he froze in shock. Xion's face contorted in pain once more.

"Roxas…" Xion mumbled, as her eyes became slightly unfocused. "I need you… to do me a favor…"

He snapped his full attention to her, knowing these were her dying words, silently vowing to heed her last wish.

"All those hearts I've captured… Kingdom Hearts…" She spoke slowly, and articulated every syllable, as if each word she said became more and more agonizing than the pervious.

"Set them free." She pleaded, her vision becoming more unclear with each sentence.

Roxas' confusion only mounted as he attempted to comprehend her dying words.

"Kingdom Hearts…" He muttered to himself, as if saying aloud the name would give him the answers he desired. "Free them?" He inquired.

His eyes widened in shock as Xion's body began to crystallize.

A sudden pained gasp emanated from Xion's lips.

"It's too late… for me to undo my mistakes…" She breathed, pain in every syllable. "But you can't let Xemnas… have Kingdom Hearts. You can't." She emphasized. She gave him a pleading look, and a hopeful smile.

"Goodbye… Roxas…" Her words grabbed his attention once more, and blue connected with blue as he deeply searched her eyes for an answer.

His blonde eyebrows furrowed in contemplation.

"See you again…" Xion's voice cracked on the last syllable, and tears streamed down her face, from both immense pain and unbearable sadness.

"I'm glad… I got to meet you." As she spoke, her gaze drifted to the clock tower that loomed above them both. She began remembering her best memories, the ones full of happiness and life. She spoke a second time. "Oh, and of course, Axel too…"

Xion's hand reached up to cup Roxas' cheek. Her voice trembled as she spoke the next words.

"You are both my best friends. Never forget, that's the truth." Her eyes, drifting in and out of focus, expressed so much more than words ever could.

Her hand slipped from its place, and her eyes began to close. It dawned on Roxas that this would be the last time he would ever see her.

Sapphire eyes wide, he grabbed her hand, and clutched onto it like a drowning man lost in an ocean of emotion.

"No!" He choked out. "Xion! Who else will I have ice-cream with?"

Xion's vision faded to black, her body beginning to crystallize and dissipate. She thought to herself, 'Roxas, when we meet again, we'll have ice-cream together again. I know it. Just wait for me."

As life began to slip from her grasp, a small smile graced the black haired girl's lips, and everything went dark.

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The sound of waves crashing against the shore was the first thing Xion became consciously aware of.

'Where… am I?' Xion thought groggily. Distantly, she could feel salt water seeping through her coat, and sand dusting her face. She groaned slightly, as the pain from her injuries cut through her foggy mind like a knife, roughly jerking her back to reality.

Faintly, she could hear the voices of two boys, one yelling at the other, but she was unable to decipher their words.

She groaned again, and sat up on her knees. Opening her eyes, she quickly shut them due to the blinding reflection of the sun off the sand. Opening them once again, more slowly this time, she allowed her eyes to adjust to the brightness. As they grew accustomed to the light, she saw a brownish blur sprint towards her.

The blur stopped a few feet from where she kneeled, and spoke to her.

"Hi! My name is Sora! Who are you?"

Xion's eyes began to focus, and she found herself face to face with someone eerily familiar.

"What the hell?" She whispered, and for the second time that day, everything went dark.

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A/N Lemme know what you think! Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 1: Starting Fresh

A/N: So I actually updated? What even is this madness? But no, you are not hallucinating, and yes it has been over six months since I posted this... Oops? Forgive me? This chapter is really short though and im super sorry for that. However, chapter two is already done! So all I have to do is getting around to posting that... Enjoy this chapter...?

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Xion sat bolt upright, panting heavily, as Roxas' cries of anguish and the cold feeling of death lingered beyond her dreams. As her heart began to slow to a more normal pace, she realized that she was no longer in Twilight Town. _Just a dream_, she thought with a sigh, as she laid back in the fluffy down of the comforter. Just as she was about to close her eyes and lose herself to the warm embrace of sleep, she paused, finally recognizing the room around her. Or, rather, not recognizing the room she was in.

Eyes narrowed in suspicion, Xion realized that she was no longer in The World That Never Was. In fact, she had never quite seen a room like the one she was in now, with warm colors and a welcoming interior. Sitting up, she was on guard and prepared for anything.

A gentle knock came from the door to her left, grabbing her attention. The door cracked open slowly, and a boy with spikey brown hair poked his head in. When he noticed she was awake, his face broke into a bright smile.

"Hey, you're awake!" He said happily, stepping fully into the room and closing the door behind him. Xion gazed at him curiously as he walked over, feeling a sense of deja vu. He was carrying a bundle of bandages in one arm, and a water bottle in the other.

"Here, I brought you some water. I know that when I wake up from sleeping, I'm always really thirsty, so I thought you might want some. Also my mom is always nagging me about how I need to drink water and be more heathy because apparently to her my eating choices really aren't the best, but what can I say? I really like good food! I mean who doesn't?" The boy continued to ramble aimlessly as he sat down on the bed next to Xion, who was eyeing him carefully.

"Oh!" He said suddenly, turning towards her. "I never introduced myself, did I?" He sheepishly rubbed the back of his head as he spoke again. "Sorry, I have a tendency to ramble and not let anyone get a word in edgewise. My name is Sora!"

Xion's head snapped towards him as he finished speaking, easily recognizing the unique name. Sora began to unwrap some of the bandages, completely oblivious to the dumbfounded look he was receiving from the black haired girl.

"It must be really strange showing up here out of nowhere. I mean I've lived here on these islands all my life, so I have no idea what it's like in other places at all. Do you remember anything about your home? Oh, and I never asked you what your name was!" He turned towards the girl, holding out the bandages. "Here let me bandage that wrist, it looks pretty painful."

Xion, still attempting to keep up with Sora's rapid fire pace, held out her arm limply as he began to bandage her wrist.

"Xion." She said quietly, eyes cast downwards. Sora's hands paused in their action of bandaging the injured girl's wrist. "That's a pretty name." He said, hands resuming their work. "Do you remember your home world? 'Cause last time a person from another world arrived here, she said she didn't remember anything…" He said sadly, completing his work on her injury.

"Yeah, I remember everything," She said softly, voice wavering with the effort of holding back tears. Memories flashed before her eyes like a stop motion video, splashes of vibrant color emblazoned against her mind's eye. Ocean blue eyes filled with kindness, fiery red flames climbing up towards the sky, blinding white light enveloping everything around it, glistening golden blonde hair reflecting the setting sun, hard, emotionless, emerald green eyes boring into her soul, the clang of blade hitting blade, the bright smile of her best friend, the salty sweet taste of ice cream, the harsh sound of gun fire, the feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach as she realized she'd bitten off more than she could chew, the bubbling feeling of happiness when with her friends, the rush of adrenaline flowing through her veins as she fought for her life. On and on the memories sped past, the sensations meshing together chaotically.

_Roxas… Axel… I'm so sorry… I never wanted to leave you guys for a second. Please _please _forgive me for what I've done… _She thought sadly, memories speeding by as she attempted to savor the moments she had with her friends. Tears began to fall as Xion gave up trying to hold back her emotions.

"Hey, are you alright?" Xion looked up, sniffling slightly, to see blue eyes filled with compassion. "Sorry, I didn't mean to make you upset. I wasn't really thinking about what I was saying."

The black haired girl smiled slightly through her tears. "It's okay. I just really miss my friends." She sniffled sadly, and reached over to grab the water bottle laying on the bed in between them.

Sora stared pensively at the duvet of the bed. "Yeah, I would be pretty sad if I had to leave my friends, too." He reached over and grabbed her hand, bringing her attention to the present. His face broke into a blinding smile, painfully reminding her of Roxas. "But that's okay! Because I promise that I will be your friend for as long as you want me to. Come on, you can meet my friends right now if you want!" He stood up and offered his hand to her.

Wiping the tears from her eyes, Xion smiled at Sora's enthusiasm. His personality was infectious, and it was nearly impossible to be sad around him. She accepted his outstretched hand, and together they walked outside into the bright sunlight.

_This is it_, Xion thought as she took in the bright blue sky and the smell of the ocean, and the feel of the sand between her toes. _This is my chance for my life to really matter._


	3. Chapter 2: Islands and Friends

A/N: Wow look who's updating :p Hello my readers and welcome back to my story. You may have noticed that I changed the name from If I Lose Myself to The Butterfly Effect. I felt the new name reflected the subject matter a little more. This chapter is quite a bit longer than the other two, and this will probably be the length of most future chapters. Without further ado, here is chapter two of the The Butterfly Effect.

Also if you saw the disaster that was the first attempt at uploading this chapter i am so so sorry.

ps. if you're feeling frisky you should review :p

**Chapter 2 **

Time passed slowly as Xion adapted to living a new life. The first few weeks were difficult, granted, she had been thrown into an entirely new world, and she had no idea if her friends even existed. It was hard for her to adapt at first, meeting new people was a struggle due to her introverted tendencies, and the kind and compassionate nature all of the islanders baffled her to no end.

Living with Sora was interesting to say the least. Both he and his mother were completely accepting of her, and eventually, she became a sort of surrogate daughter and sister to them both. There were a few road bumps in the beginning, but as time passed, they became less and less, and she started to feel at home on the Islands.

Sora, being the extrovert he was, dragged Xion to meet his other friends, Kairi, Riku, Selphie, Tidus and Wakka. Xion became closer friends with both Kairi and Riku, considering that Selphie Tidus and Wakka already had their own group of friends. The two girls almost instantly became friends, bonding over talk of their old homes, and the fact that neither of them originated from the islands. Riku, however, was a little more difficult to befriend. It took consistent effort on Xion's part, and beating his ass into next week during a sword fight. At that point, Riku had no choice but to grudgingly accept her into their friend group.

Weeks turned to months, and months turned to seasons. Birthdays and holidays passed by as Xion grew older and matured. She never forgot her old friends, but the pain of losing Roxas and Axel was dulled by the happiness she shared with her new friends as they began to grow together.

Every so often, something would remind her of her old friends. She would see Roxas' smile and determination in Sora, she would see Axel's sarcasm and loyalty in Riku, and sometimes, she would even see her own curiosity and sympathetic nature in Kairi. At times like this, she felt slightly out of place. The three of them fit together so well, she felt like an outsider who didn't belong. However, her friend's quickly brought her out of her depression, and reminded her of how important she truly was.

The four of them together became closer and closer as time passed, becoming nearly inseparable. They did nearly everything together, and grew older and more mature.

During their time together, Xion began to teach all of them how to fight. Sora and Riku would fight with swords, but neither of them really knew what they were doing.

It had all started one day, after Kairi asked to join them.

Riku snorted slightly, and spoke loudly and arrogantly, twirling his sword in his hand. "Girls are horrible at fighting. They don't have a place on the battlefield."

Sora cringed slightly at his words, knowing that it was a sore subject for the black haired girl he lived with.

Angered at Riku's insinuations, Xion walked over and wrenched Sora's wooden sword from his grip. The two shared a knowing look, and the spikey haired brunet stepped back, knowing how horrible Xion's temper could get. The black haired girl faced off against Riku, holding her sword out ready.

"I'll show you that girl's don't have a place fighting," She said angrily, a vicious fire blazing in her ocean blue eyes.

Riku simply cocked an eyebrow, as if to challenge her. "Is that so?" He asked sarcastically. He poised his sword in the ready position. "Then I hope you won't mind when I completely demolish you."

And with that, the battle began.

Xion raced towards the silver haired male, delivering a hard slash to his stomach, and another hit to his ribs. Riku was barely able to block in time, as his eyes widened as he saw the look of pure fury and determination on his opponent's face. He jumped backwards, attempting to gain some sort of distance from Xion.

Xion sprinted towards him again, this time faking a hit towards his stomach, and rolling back behind him and delivering a hard slash to his back. Riku, falling for the fake, was left completely open for the attack. He went down hard, face laying pressed into the sand. Xion stood over him victorious, a knowing smirk on her face.

The fight had taken less than 30 seconds.

Riku groaned in pain, the sound muffled by the sand.

"Dang Xion, you couldn't have gone a little easy on him?" Sora said jokingly, walking over and poking Riku with his finger. Xion turned to him and gave him a knowing look.

"That was going easy on him, though." She said, a cheeky smile filling her face. The two friends looked at each other, attempting to be serious, before busting out in laughter at Riku's predicament.

"Stop laughing, guys! It's not funny!" Riku said, voice muffled by the sand in his face. The two friends attempted to school their features, but with one look at each other, they burst into a new round of laughter. The sound of footsteps behind her caused Xion to turn. Kairi stood behind her, gazing in awe at Riku's fallen form.

She glanced up at Xion with hesitation, and asked, "So…. Can you teach me to do that?"

Xion laughed lightly. "Yes, I can teach you how to do that and more." Her face sobered as she thought of what was to come of her three friends. _Maybe this time you'll be a little more prepared._

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The darkness was everywhere, suffocating and stifling. It was all encompassing, and consumed her vision. Her lungs refused to cooperate, her chest constricting with the need for oxygen. She thrashed violently, attempting to free herself from the sensory deprivation. She felt nothing, saw nothing, heard nothing. Only darkness remained. She opened her mouth in an attempt to scream, but no noise came out. She ran through the darkness, in an attempt to find a way out of her living nightmare. In the distance, she saw a small light. She sprinted towards the light, knowing that it was her only chance for salvation.

Upon reaching the light, she became aware that she was standing on a stained glass platform. The glass was grey, and showed an image of her sleeping. She kneeled down, staring at her sleeping face etched upon the glass. A crackling noise startled her, and she rose from her kneeling position. She glanced down at her feet to see the glass beneath her beginning to crack. She took a few small steps back from the cracking area, only to step into another fragile spot. The noise of shattering glass filled the air, as the mosaic beneath her feet exploded. Falling through the air, she shrieked, returning to the darkness she had tried so hard to escape.

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Xion's eyes snapped open, waking from her dream. She stared at the blue sky above her, and the blinding sun, and thought about her strange dream. _That was odd._ She thought as she sat up from her spot laying on the sandy beach. She stretched her arms above her head, and yawned loudly. She brushed the sand off of her black shorts and white tank top with practiced precision. She glanced at the brown haired boy napping next to her. His spikey hair waved slightly in the wind. She smiled evilly as she stood up, and leaned over the boy.

"BOO!" She yelled, trying her best not to laugh. The boy beneath her started violently, and sat up, breathing hard. Once he realized he wasn't in immediate danger, he noticed Xion's giggles. He turned to face her, exasperated.

"Dangit Xion! That's the third time this week!" He said, whining slightly.

"Well then maybe you shouldn't be napping all the time! You make it much too easy, Sora." She giggled, rolling her blue eyes.

Sora flopped back down on the sand, arms and legs sprawled everywhere. "I guess that's true…" He said. "But that's no excuse for you to scare me as much as you do!"

Xion collapsed onto the ground next to him as she spoke again, still smiling. "What if I told you it was fun?"

Sora gave her an incredulous look before his face fell into a pout. "You're so mean! I was having a really weird dream too…"

Xion's head snapped towards his, her full attention on him. "I was having a really strange dream too… Mine was about me… on a stained glass platform? I think?"

His eyes widened as he shook his head vigorously. "Wait, I had that dream too! That's really strange… I wonder if it means anything."

Xion looked off at the horizon, thinking pensively. "Yeah… I wonder…"

The two sat for a few minutes, mulling over the strange dreams that they had.

"Hey guys!" The shout startled them and brought their attention to the redhead standing nearby.

"Hey Kairi," Sora said cheerfully, his mood making a complete one eighty. Xion waved to the girl.

Kairi walked over closer to the two by the waves while shouting, "There you two are! Riku and I have been searching for you! We need some help with the raft."

_Oh yeah, the raft. I forgot about that. _Xion thought, mentally shrugging. Riku had come up with the idea for the raft, saying that he couldn't stand to be on the island now that he knew there were other worlds. Xion agreed to it mostly because she didn't want to cause problems. She knew of the other worlds out there, but mostly kept the information to herself, much to Riku's irritation.

Sora stood to his feet, brushing the sand off his clothes. "We'll come help you with the raft, won't we Xion?" He said, giving Xion a hand to her feet.

"Of course." She said happily, smiling slightly. Together the three of them made their way to the raft.

* * *

Together, Sora and Xion managed to collect everything they needed for the raft, while Kairi sewed the sails, and Riku built the raft itself. After a long day of work, the four friends sat together by the Paopu Tree, enjoying each other's company, and watching the sunset.

Everything was quiet, until Sora broke the silence. "So Xion, your home is out there somewhere, right?"

She glanced down from her position on the tree trunk, speaking softly. "Yeah…"

"Do you ever miss it?" Kairi asked hesitantly.

Xion closed her eyes, remembering the World That Never Was. She grimaced as she pictured it, and replied. "I don't miss mwy home world, that's for sure. But, I miss the people I knew." Fragments of blonde hair, smiles, and green eyes flashed by as she reminisced.

"My home is out there somewhere too," Kairi said, her voice small.

"Could be." Riku said, not making eye contact with either of the girls. "We'll never know by staying here. I just... want to know what's out there. If there are so many other worlds out there, why did we end up on this one?"

_Because you guys are a part of something much greater. _ Xion though sadly, tucking a piece of ebony hair behind her ear. _You have no idea what's in store for you._

"Well, I say we should go out there and find out. Just sitting here won't change a thing." Riku said passionately, his pale hand curling into a fist.

"You've been thinking a lot lately," Kairi asked, looking at Riku questioningly.

"Thanks to you. If you and Xion hadn't come here, I probably would've never thought of any of this. So thanks." Riku turned to face the three sitting on the trunk of the tree.

_You won't be thanking me in a year, that's for sure._ Xion thought morbidly as Kairi giggled in response to Riku's declaration.

The four friends sat in silence, thinking about Riku's words. _I want to convince them not to leave, to cherish their lives here on the island, _Xion thought quietly, _But I know that there's nothing I can do to stop them. I suppose-_

"Hey Xion," The girl turned towards the voice, and saw Sora standing there, Riku and Kairi walking across the bridge behind him.

"I didn't want to leave you here all on your own. Mom would get mad if we stayed any longer" Sora smiled lightly, brown hair swaying slightly in the cool breeze. Xion stood up from her place on the tree trunk, and brushed the dirt off her clothes. She walked across the bridge and stood next to Sora in silence.

"You seemed pretty deep in thought." Sora said, voice surprisingly serious. Xion sighed slightly, knowing that the question was coming.

"I've just been thinking about some things." She said vaguely, face blank and emotionless. Sora huffed, recognizing her defense mechanism.

"Hey," He said, grabbing her wrist to make her stop walking. They stood on the beach together, only the sound of the waves in the background. The setting sun illuminated his face, reminding her heavily of Roxas.

"I just want to make sure that you're okay." He spoke seriously, dropping her hand. Xion scanned his face, looking for anything that would give away his true intentions. He had grown a lot in the past year, heavy training and conditioning could do that to a person. His arms were toned and muscular, and he had lost much of the baby fat on his face. Despite only being fourteen, he looked as if he could easily pass for being sixteen. His bright blue eyes were filled with compassion and empathy. _Things are changing already, _Xion thought quietly._ Either for better, or worse. _

Xion sighed again, raising her eyes to meet his. "I guess I'm just worried about all of this." Sora gave her a questioning look in response. "What do you mean?" He asked quietly.

Xion rubbed her hand over her face, expression somber and serious. "I'm just worried about what's going to happen to us. With the raft, I mean." His eyes widened in recognition at her statement. "I'm just so scared that somehow we'll get separated, or somehow this won't work out the way we want it to." Xion began walking slowly back towards their house, deep in thought, while Sora walked silently beside her.

"I've seen so many horrible things Sora." She whispered, eyes blank and glassy. "Awful things that I don't want any of you to experience. The worlds can be cruel, and life isn't all fun and games. I just want you to remember that." Xion stopped in front of the house, gazing up into the sky.

Sora stood quietly, mulling over her words. Xion spoke quietly, her voice barely audible. "Promise me that if anything ever happens, that we'll stick together." She pleaded, turning to look at him. Sora stood, obvious confusion written on his face.

"Of course." He said, softly. "If it ever comes to that, I promise that stay with you no matter what."

Xion turned away, and softly murmured, "Thank you, that means more to me than you will ever know." With those words, she walked inside the house, the door slamming shut behind her, leaving Sora standing outside under the light of the stars.

* * *

A new day dawned bright and early on Destiny Islands. The four friends sat together on the beach while taking a break from building their raft. For once, however, not all was peaceful within the friend group.

"We're naming it Highwind!" Sora exclaimed, throwing an accusatory glance in Riku's direction.

"No!" He retorted, his teal eyes narrowed in concentration. "We're naming the raft Excalibur and that's final!" The two girls sat side by side, watching the argument unfold.

Riku turned to Xion and Kairi, and said, "What do you guys think. Excalibur or Highwind."

Xion sighed, combing a hand through her hair as she thought about getting involved. She turned to Kairi, and the two girls exchanged a shrug. _Might as well end the argument here. _Xion thought, slightly exasperated at her friends' antics.

"Highwind." Xion said at the same time Kairi said "Excalibur." The two girls turned to look at each other, eyes wide.

"We should name it Excalibur because of the legend of King Arthur. The name Excalibur makes much more sense." Kairi stated, throwing a superior look in Xion's direction.

"I think we should name it Highwind to give us luck." Xion said, attempting to refute Kairi's claim. "Through using the raft, we're going to need to rely on the winds a lot more than you might think."

"See?!" Sora exclaimed, turning defiantly in his best friend's direction, and throwing his arms up in the air. "I told you, Riku! We're naming it Highwind and that's that!"

Riku rolled his eyes, and stood from his sitting position on the beach. "The only way to settle this is through a fight, Sora. Two versus Two. Me and Kairi versus you and Xion. This will determine the name of our raft." Riku grabbed the four wooden swords laying on the sand nearby, and tossed two of them in Xion and Sora's direction. He calmly handed the other to Kairi.

"Team Highwind is gonna kick your butts!" Soar said brightly, as he jumped up enthusiastically from his sitting position on the beach. His eyes sparkled with excitement and adrenaline. Xion rolled her eyes at Sora's enthusiasm, and calmly stood up and picked up her sword.

Xion turned to Sora, and gave him a smirk. "Let's show them who the real bosses are, huh Sora?"

Sora nodded excitedly. "Heck yeah! Team Highwind for the win!"

The two stood side by side and faced their opponents, who exchanged a high five, and settled down into a ready position. Xion readied her sword, prepared to strike. In her peripheral vision, she could see Sora bouncing up and down with excitement.

"On my mark!" Riku called, a cocky smirk on his face. Kairi stood beside him, sword at the ready, and a determined look on her face. "Three, Two, One, Go!"

Xion sprinted toward the other two, sword poised and ready. She glanced over in Sora's direction, and the two exchanged a nod, communicating their attack plan. The two split off into either direction, while Riku and Kairi stood prepared to defend themselves. Grabbing her sword tightly with both hands, she slid towards Riku, and delivered a hard slash to his stomach. Reacting quickly, Riku parried the shot with the hilt of his sword, and aimed a shot at her knees. Riku had improved drastically since Xion had first fought him a year ago. The two of them were almost even in ability. Unbeknownst to Riku, however, Xion still had a few tricks up her sleeve.

Rolling backwards, Xion dodged the sword about to come down on the top of her head. She backed out of Riku's range, and circled him like a wolf stalking their prey. "Fighting dirty, are we now Riku?" Xion said, a smile on her face.

"Do you expect anything less?" He responded, an equally broad smile on his face. With a glance to her left, she saw Sora and Kairi fighting valiantly, Sora slightly getting the upper hand against Kairi, who was beginning to tire. Her red hair was tied up, but pieces had fallen out and plastered to her face due to sweat. She was panting heavily, and heaving slightly with fatigue. Despite this, it didn't look like she was willing to give up any time soon.

A rush of wind alerted Xion's attention back to her fight against Riku. She snapped her attention back to Riku, and neatly jumped out of the way of a stab to her stomach. She bounced on her toes, and jumped forward, attempting to strike at Riku's head. Before her hit could connect, Riku rolled out of the way, however, her sword still clipped him. Riku attempted the clamor to his feet, but his weakness was exposed. Xion sprinted forward, delivering a three hit combo before he could react. Riku went down, and Xion placed her knee into his stomach and raised her sword to his neck.

"Dead." Xion said, an innocent smile on her face. Riku groaned, face turning red, and threw his head back on the sand, ashamed that he had lost again.

"147 to 63, Riku. You'd better step up your game." Xion teased lightly, helping Riku to his feet. Riku rolled his eyes. "Stop rubbing it in Xion, now's not the time. Anyways I'm pretty sure that Sora needs your help."

A yelp was heard from behind the two teens. Xion quickly turned to see Sora sprinting towards the sea in an attempt to get away from a laughing Kairi who was brandishing her sword in the air.

"Help me!" Sora yelled at Xion as he launched himself into the waves. Xion giggled at his predicament. "I dunno Sora, you seem to be handling it pretty well!" She yelled back, getting a dirty look shot in her direction. Kairi stood on the sand, laughing uncontrollably, as she watched Sora get more and more drenched by the incoming waves.

"Sora!" She called, smiling brightly. "Come out of the ocean, you wuss!"

"I'm not a-"A girly shriek was heard as Sora was cut off by a huge wave taking him under. The three friends began laughing hysterically as Sora resurfaced, completely drenched by sea water, and sputtering loudly.

"Don't worry Sora! I'll save you, my princess!" Xion called out, voice laced with sarcasm. Riku had fallen on the ground due to his immense laughter. Without throwing a backwards glance, Xion ran towards the ocean as Sora attempted to escape the waves. Together they stood on the beach, ready to face off against Kairi.

"Team Highwind?" Sora asked, throwing a glance at Xion.

"Team Highwind." Xion nodded, and with that, the two ran towards Kairi, yelling out their battle cries.

The two friends fought together perfectly in sync, as if they were almost the same person. Their fighting styles were eerily similar, and complemented each other. Together, the two of them cut off Kairi from either side. Xion threw a slash at the back of Kairi's knees, attempting to knock her off balance, as Sora threw a strike at Kairi's chest. Neatly jumping of the way, Kairi blocked the strike from Sora, and dodged Xion's slash. The red headed girl quickly stabbed towards Sora's stomach, not leaving any openings. Sora, unable to dodge the strike, collapsed on the ground, coughing heavily.

Kairi and Xion faced off, the last two standing. Kairi's nerves were clearly showing on her face, but still was determined to win. Without warning, Xion delivered three strikes in rapid succession, the first at Kairi's shoulder, the second to her side, and the last towards her chest. The first strike missed, and the second was parried, but the last hit true on its target.

Kairi fell to her knees coughing heavily as Xion was struck by a sudden sense of Déjà vu. Pain flooded through Xion's mind as Kairi's form flickered and changed to show an image of herself. Clutching her head in pain as the memories threatened to overtake her, Xion dropped her sword and collapsed on the ground. An image of herself kneeling and bleeding on the ground flooded her mind's eye. The image of being cradled in the arms of Roxas the fierce need to fight to win to destroy engulfing her common sense the intense pain of her wounds her vision darkening as she took her last breath-

"Xion!" A voice snapped her out of her flashback. As she opened the eyes that she didn't know she had closed, she saw vibrant blue eyes that were eerily familiar. "Roxas," She choked out, and promptly passed out on the shore of the beach.


	4. Chapter 3: Everything Changes

**A/N: Hello everyone! I'm finally back :D So sorry about that hiatus, but life has been pretty busy for me recently. I just finished up my Junior year of high school and I'm finally on summer break! So hopefully that means that I'll be able to write and upload more consistently. Hope you guys enjoy!**

* * *

Blinking slowly, Xion slowly drifted back into consciousness. As her eyes suddenly adjusted to the influx of light, she saw three multicolored blurs standing over top of her. Slowly, the three blurs began to solidify into something more recognizable, or rather, someone.

"You're awake!" She winced as the sound pierced through her hazy mind. She groaned slightly, bringing up her hand to massage her head. _Another headache? Great. _She thought sarcastically. She began to sit forward, hand still holding her head. She glanced upwards, seeing three concerned faces looking back.

"I'm okay guys," She said, wobbling slightly as she stood up, sand falling from her moving form.

"Are you sure you're okay? You just passed out after our fight," Kairi said worriedly. "Also you said something about a Roxas?" She questioned tentatively. The trio of friends glanced at each other, knowing how tight lipped Xion was about her past home.

_Ugh, _Xion thought tiredly. _I'll have to explain it to them otherwise they'll never let it go. I don't want to bring up those old memories though…_

"I'll explain later." Xion said curtly, brushing sand off of her clothing, and refusing to meet the eyes of her friends. Out of her peripheral vision, she could see Riku give her a disbelieving look, and Sora give her a disapproving glance.

"I'm not ready to talk about it yet." She said coldly. "Do not push me on this." Riku opened his mouth, ready to retort with a heated comment, but Sora beat him to it.

"Xion, please. It's about time you open up to us about this." He said calmly, as if speaking to a spooked animal.

The black haired girl turned back to face her friends, blue eyes as hard as steel. "No, Sora. It's my choice to tell you about my past, and I'm not going to." Xion turned back to walk away from the group, but was stopped by Riku's voice.

"How are we supposed to trust you, then?" Riku asked. His voice had a hostile tone to it that set her on edge.

"I never asked you to trust me." She retorted, face impassive and void of emotion. "In all honesty, I never wanted you to. Trusting people gets you hurt, and believe me when I say that I'm not one you should trust."

Without a backwards glance, Xion walked away from the group and over towards the Paopu tree, wanting some alone time. As she walked across the bridge, she took a moment to think about her actions thus far.

_To think that I thought I could fix everything. _She thought bitterly. _I can't even get over my old life long enough to think about what's to come._

She caressed the trunk of the tree gently as she thought. Sighing slightly, she hopped up and sat on the edge of the trunk, and stared off into the horizon.

_What am I supposed to do? _She thought tiredly, rubbing her forehead. _I can't even handle myself, let alone three other people. Roxas… I wish you were here. _A wave of sadness hit her like a bus as she thought about the past. She never really had any time to properly grieve, and as she looked back on her life now, she realized that there really was no going back.

The sound of footsteps brought her out of her thoughts. She glanced up and saw Kairi standing there. Her red hair shone with the light of the midday sun, and her blue eyes reflected the image of the ocean.

"Can I sit?" She asked tentatively, giving Xion a small smile.

"Yeah," She murmured, sitting up and patting the tree trunk next to her. The two girls sat in silence for a while, simply waiting for the other to make the first move. After about a minute of silence, Kairi spoke up.

"Trusting people doesn't always get you hurt, you know." Xion hummed slightly in response, staring out at the horizon. "I get that you don't want to talk about your old life. It makes sense that you would want to put that behind you and start anew. But, you have to remember the way that we see it." Kairi said sincerely, turning to look at her friend. "Just keep that in mind when the boys get a little bit heated."

They sat in silence for a few more moments before Xion spoke up. "I will. Thanks for understanding Kairi."

"That's what I'm here for," She said, a soft smile gracing her delicate features. "C'mon, let's go join the boys. We still have some work to do on that raft." She hopped off the trunk of the tree, and held her hand out for Xion.

"Sounds good to me," Xion said, taking the outstretched hand with a smile.

"So, I'm thinking that we still need to get the sails done, so I'll work on that…."

* * *

With another long day of work behind them, Sora, Kairi and Xion sat on the dock watching the sun set. They sat in silence, none of them speaking to each other.

"You know, Riku's changed." Kairi said, staring out into the waves. She brushed a strand of red hair behind her ear.

"What are you talking about?" Sora inquired, a curious look on his face. Xion sat in silence, watching the interaction between the two of them.

"Well…" She said thoughtfully.

"Is everything okay, Kairi?" Xion asked hesitantly. "You seem a little confused."

"I dunno." She said. "Maybe we should take the raft and go, the three of us!" She stood up as she spoke, getting more and more confident as the sentence progressed.

Sora shared an incredulous look with Xion, and said, "What's gotten into you? Maybe you're the one who's changed, Kairi."

She shrugged slightly, as if accepting the statement. "Maybe I have. But now I know that no matter what happens, that we can always come back here right? Destiny Islands will always be waiting for us."

_Think again, _Xion thought, mood suddenly plummeting. _It'll be a long time until you see this place again._

"Right. We can always come back here." Sora said happily, blue eyes shining brightly.

"Sora," Kairi said, turning to face him. "Don't ever change." Her face was illuminated by the setting sun, giving her an ethereal quality.

"'Course not," He said with a bright smile. He stood up from his place on the dock and grabbed her hand, swinging her around into a twirl. The two friends laughed together, enjoying the moment.

_Enjoy it while you can, _Xion thought, a small smile on her face. "I'm heading home guys, I'll see you tomorrow, Kairi. Be ready to set sail, 'cause tomorrow is the day! And Sora, please make sure you're home before curfew." She said brightly, waving as she began to walk away.

"Bye Xion!" She heard Kairi yell as she headed home.

_Tomorrow is the day, _she thought, gazing up towards the sky. _Tomorrow everything changes._

* * *

Xion woke with a start, panting heavily in the darkness of her room. Something was wrong, something was very _very _wrong.

Jumping out of her bed, Xion walked towards her window, brushing aside the curtains to take a look outside. Instead of a normal peaceful night, the sky was swirling with an unnatural darkness, and the island was illuminated by the eerie an eerie red light. Internally swearing, Xion grabbed her wooden sword and, after a moment's deliberation, donned her old organization cloak. She had a feeling that she would need it. She sprinted out of the house and ran towards the dock, knowing that she would find her friends there.

As she ran, she noticed that shadows began to spawn around her. Xion rushed past them, electing to ignore their presence. Glancing upwards, she saw Sora on the bridge leading to the Papou tree. She pushed herself to run just a little faster, and took the stairs three at a time to reach the bridge.

"Sora!" She yelled, attempting to get the brunet's attention. Sora glanced back, and smiled when he saw her.

"Thank god you're okay," He yelled back. "What's going on?"

"I dunno," She retorted, "But first we need to find the others!" Glancing behind Sora, she spotted a flash of silver hair. "There's Riku," she said, sighing in relief.

"Riku!" Sora yelled, his voice carrying over the howling wind. The two friends made their way towards his silhouetted frame.

"Riku! Where's Kairi? I thought she was with you?" Sora asked loudly, shielding his face from the merciless storm.

Riku turned slowly to face them, an insane glint in his eyes. "The door has opened, Sora! Now, we can go to the outside worlds!" A pool of darkness began to form around the trio's feet, threatening to swallow them whole.

"Riku, what are you talking about? We have to go find Kairi!" Sora shouted, attempting to convince his best friend. Riku simply shook his head.

"Kairi's coming with us! Once we step through, we might not be able to come back. We may never see our parents again. There's no turning back. But this may be our only chance. We can't let fear stop us! I'm not afraid of the darkness!" Riku extended his hand towards the two, as if inviting them into the unknown.

Sora started forward, as if to reach for Riku's outstretched hand. Xion quickly grabbed his arm, preventing him from "accepting" Riku's invitation. "Riku, no! Don't do this! The darkness will use you like a puppet! It may seem like a good idea now, but trust me on this! Submitting to the darkness will only bring you pain and suffering!" Xion shouted, attempting to open Riku's eyes to the truth. She had to convince him. This was her chance to change everything for the better.

Riku scoffed, dropping his arm. "And why, exactly, should I take your word for it?" His normally bright and happy teal eyes were narrowed in suspicion and skepticism. "According to you, Xion, 'trusting people gets you hurt, and believe me when I say that I'm not one you should trust.'" Xion started backwards as if slapped when she heard her own words being spat back at her. Her throat felt tight, and breathing felt difficult. Swallowing hard, Xion realized that nothing she could say could sway Riku from his choice.

"Fine," She said, voice slightly hoarse. "If this is what you choose, I accept it." She felt her body begin to tremble, and clenched her hand in an attempt to stop it. "Just remember your choice next time we see each other."

Riku snorted at her response. The darkness pooled around his feet mutated, climbing up around his legs and towards his torso. "I'll keep that in mind," He remarked, his voice as hard as steel. "Have fun finding Kairi," He said, giving a sarcastic wave to the two friends. With that, the darkness surrounding him appeared to completely engulf him.

Sora, who had stood in silence for the duration of the encounter, was snapped out of his stupor at the mention of Kairi's name.

"WAIT! RIKU!" Sora yelled, attempting to launch himself at the dissipating cloud of darkness where Riku had once stood. Xion grabbed him before he could do so, and physically restrained him from following their former friend.

"Sora!" She snapped, voice tight with the effort of restraining his still thrashing body. "Get yourself together! The shadows are swarming us, and we need to find Kairi, now!"

His thrashing stopped suddenly, and he fell limp in Xion's arms. She could feel his body trembling, dealing with shock of losing his best friend. Sora looked up, eyes wet, and used what little strength he had left to stand up on his own. Xion gave him a concerned look as he regained his composure. He sent her a faked smile in an attempt to reassure her.

"Let's go find Kairi," He said, voice barely carrying over the sound of the heavy wind. Xion nodded in response, and began to jog towards the hoard of shadows coming their way.

"We'll have to fight through these shadows first though," She said, throwing a look over her shoulder to make sure that he was following her lead. She saw him nod and pull out his wooden sword. Knowing that he now had a weapon, Xion focused her attention on the shadows ahead of her.

Taking a deep breath, Xion summoned her Keyblade for the first time in over a year. The customary flash of light blinded her briefly as she took a look at her blade. It had changed since she had last used it. Instead of the traditional blue and gold Kingdom Key she had always wielded, it had changed to look like Oblivion. She twirled the blade a little, readjusting her grip slightly. A small smile graced her lips as she dove into the fight, whaling away at the defenseless shadows.

The new blade handled a little differently than her old one; it was much more melee focused, and was more useful in close combat than ranged attacks. She found herself relying less and less on the magic she had taught herself in favor of leaping headlong into the center of the action.

A yelp from Sora's direction disrupted Xion from her fighting rhythm. She glanced backwards to see Sora completely surrounded by shadows. She could barely see him due to the heavy population of shadows.

_How did all of those shadows get by me? _She asked herself, struggling to make her way towards him. "Hold on Sora, I'm coming!" She yelled, trying to grab his attention. She fought her way through the cloud of shadows as fast as she could, but she was still too far away when the shadows engulfed him completely.

A muffled scream could be heard underneath the black mass. "SORA!" Xion screamed, fighting even more valiantly in an attempt to reach her friend.

A bright flash of light illuminated the area suddenly, and the shadows were sent flying. Sora stood there, holding the Kingdom Key with tentative curiosity. He gripped the handle a little tighter as he watched the shadows make their way back towards him.

Xion gave a sigh of relief, thanking every divine being she knew that he was okay. She ran towards him, haphazardly slashing at some shadows along the way. Sora began fighting back against the waves of enemies, making a sizable dent in their numbers by himself. Together, Xion and Sora finished off the last of their enemies, and stood together on the beach, panting with exhaustion.

Sora held up his blade with a small quirk of the lips. "So, I guess I've got this now…?" He said, choking out a nervous laugh. Xion shook her head slightly in response, beckoning him over towards their secret place.

"We can talk about that later, first we need to find Kairi. Something tells me she's probably in there." Sora nodded, brown hair swaying in the heavy winds. Together, the two friends eliminated the remainder of shadows that lingered. Occasionally, Xion would see Sora shooting questioning looks at her Keyblade, but he seemed to accept its presence for the time being. Eventually, the two friends found themselves at the opening of the Secret Place.

Sora entered the cave first, keeping his eyes peeled for a familiar red-head. Without warning, he made a startled noise, and Xion craned her nook to see what the problem was. Kairi stood before them, but something felt wrong about the situation. She turned around slowly, as if in a trance.

"So-ra… Xi-on…" She spoke haltingly, as if each syllable took massive concentration to verbalize. She extended her arm, as if straining to reach the two friends. "Kairi!" Sora answered, his cobalt blue eyes asking the many questions he didn't have the time or energy to articulate. Abruptly, the door behind her opened, sending a gust of wind towards them. The wind launched her body like a rag doll towards the two friends, and Sora stretched out his arms as if to catch her. However, she blew right through him, as if she was merely an apparition. The wind continued to blow strongly, and propelled Xion and Sora out the cave entrance.

Xion's scream stuck in her throat as the wind was knocked out of her. She attempted to grab onto Sora's clothing, but missed and grabbed his arm instead. Sora, thinking quickly, gripped onto a piece of wood sticking out of the ground. He looked back at Xion, obvious panic showing on his face. The two friends shared a fearful moment of desperation.

Xion took a deep breath and called out to him. "Sora, you need to let go! We can't stay like this forever! Hold onto me! Everything will be okay! I promise!" Sora shot her a disbelieving look, and glanced into the darkening sky before nodding slowly and tightening his grip on her hand. He nodded to himself a second time, as if the mentally prepare himself for his next action, and gently let go of his lifeline. The two friends clutched onto each other for dear life as they were sucked into the unknown.

* * *

**A/N: As you guys can probably tell, things are already changing *evil laugh*. Buckle your seatbelts boys and girls, shits about to get crazy. **

**Just to answer some of the reviews I received for the last chapter, yes Xion is still able to wield the Keyblade, as you probably noted. However, she is no longer able to wield the Kingdom Key, considering there can't be two of the same Keyblade wielded by different people at the same time. I took liberties by having her use the Oblivion Keyblade, considering after she merges with Roxas when she "dies", Roxas is able to dual wield Oathkeeper and Oblivion. However, just because she can use the Keyblade doesn't mean she will continue to :). **

**Also, about Riku's sexism in the last chapter, before the big storm in KH1, Riku is very arrogant. Its simply a more immature part of his personality. His comment about girls fighting more mirrors his arrogance rather than any dislike against the female gender as a whole. **

**Thanks for reading everyone! I hope to have the next chapter up relatively soon!**


	5. Chapter 4: We're Not in Kansas Anymore

A/N: So it's been awhile. And by "it's been awhile" I mean like 7 months. Please don't kill me? Seriously though, I'm so sorry about this taking forever. I started my senior year of high school and had a few health problems that made me forget all about this little project of mine. Hope you all enjoy this chapter (and again, apologies for the long wait).

Chapter 4

Xion woke to the sound of mumbling voices and rain tapping on the windows. She sat up slowly, yawning slightly as she gazed around at her surroundings. Everything was blurry and indistinct, the result of her still dreamy mind. Evidently, she had fallen asleep in the Grey Area again. Hearing the shuffling of footsteps, Xion turned around to see Demyx standing there.

"Hey Demyx," She said, stifling another yawn. She rubbed at her eyes, attempting to wake herself up. Frowning slightly, Xion gazed at his impassive and unemotional facial expression. She squinted slightly at the hazy atmosphere, attempting to focus on the figure in front of her.

"Xion," Demyx said, aqua eyes uncharacteristically cold and impassive. "How could you betray us?"

"Huh?" She responded. "What're you talking about?" She stared at him in confusion. She glanced around again, noting that no one else appeared to be in the Grey Area besides the two of them. Huh, that's strange, Xion thought. I could have sworn I heard voices.

Her surroundings began to shift and change; the background of the Grey Area morphed into the Twilight Town Clock tower. However, the shift was so subtle, it took her a moment to realize that she was no longer in the same place.

"How could you?" She turned rapidly to see Axel standing there, his hands curled into fists and usually immaculate hair knotted and in tangles. Tear tracks stained his dirt smudged face.

"What are you talking about?" She mumbled, scared and confused. "I didn't do anything!"

Her surroundings began to change again, slowly and gradually. This time she was below the clock tower. It looked to be around sunset, and the fading light of the sun began to disappear behind the horizon.

"Xion," Xion turned to see Roxas standing before her, hood up, and holding the Oblivion and Oathkeeper Keyblades. The sky, once painted with the gold and orange hues of sunset, was completely obscured by dark thunderclouds.

"Xion," He repeated. His voice sounded eerie, as if there were two overlaid on top of each other. The clouds overhead thundered ominously, and rain droplets began to fall, harshly hitting the ground and the two figures below the clock tower. Roxas brandished his weapons, as if preparing to strike.

"Xion!" He yelled, sprinting towards her, bringing his blade up to slash-

"Xion! Wake up!" She jolted awake and jumped to her feet, quickly summoning her blade. She glanced around furtively, panicked and on guard.

"Umm, Xion?" The black haired girl snapped her head towards the noise. She looked down to see Sora sitting on the ground, gazing up at her in confusion.

"Uh, you were having a nightmare, so uh, I thought I'd wake you up." He rubbed the back of his head, looking slightly sheepish. Xion grimaced, dismissing her Keyblade, and relaxed, breathing hard from the remnants of her dreams.

"Um, sorry about that…" She said, embarrassed at her actions. Looking around, she realized that they were no longer in Destiny Islands. "So, where are we, exactly?" She asked curiously, giving Sora a hand up from the ground.

He brushed the dirt off his pants and looked towards the alleyway entrance. "I dunno," He said, beginning to walk towards the entrance. "We should probably find out though, right?" He gave her a shrug and turned the corner.

Xion sighed slightly, following him at more sedate pace. As she exited the alleyway, she began to examine her surroundings. It was a remaining habit from her days in the Organization. Every time she found herself in a new area, she checked for exits, possible threats, and so on. Scanning the area, Xion noted the large buildings and the small alleyways scattered around the town and the light of the streetlamps that illuminated the dark night air. A few people appeared to be milling around, but to Xion, the town seemed strangely empty, as if it were deserted.

Suspicious, Xion took a closer look at the few people milling about in the square. They seemed despondent and discouraged for no apparent reason. She contemplated going up to one of the inhabitants and asking about the town, but before she could do anything, she was cut off by the sound of Sora calling her name.

"Hey, Xion," He called, beckoning her over. "Let's see what's in here."

She hummed quietly in response, and made her way over to where he was standing. It said 'Accessory Shop' in glowing letters above the door. Together, the two friends tentatively entered the shop.

The first thing Xion noticed was the blond man behind the counter. He wore old grungy looking clothes fit for a mechanic, and looked to be in his mid-thirties age wise.

As they walked in, the man began to speak. "Hey there. How can I… oh, it's only a buncha kids." By the end of his sentence, the man had obviously dismissed them as being unimportant.

"Hey!" Sora said defensively, bristling at the man's words. "I'm no kid! And the name's Sora!"

The man raised his hands in a semblance of a surrender. "Okay, okay, simmer down, kid. The name's Cid Highwind. So why the long face, Sora? You lost or somethin'? And who's your friend?"

"Hi, I'm Xion," She said, waving her hand slightly. "And yes, technically we are. Do you mind telling us where we are?" She glanced at Sora carefully, examining his reaction to this strange new world.

"Yeah, where are we?" Sora questioned, blue eyes wide with confusion. He looked so young and innocent, and Xion just wanted to grab him and take him back to Destiny Islands, where he would be safe.

I forgot how young they all were. She thought, quietly contemplating their whole situation. They don't deserve the pain and suffering they're about to go through. Especially not Sora.

"Hey, Xion! Were you even paying attention for any of that?" Xion snapped out of her thoughts, blushing as she realized that she had completely zoned out during Cid's explanation.

Sora rolled his eyes, and turned to face her. "Apparently, we're in this place called Traverse Town. He also said that he hasn't seen Riku or Kairi, so we should probably head out to go look for them." Xion nodded her consent, and turned back to face Cid. "Thank you for all of your help, sir. We really appreciate it."

Cid rubbed his nose slightly, seemingly embarrassed. "No need to call me sir. I'm just a regular guy doin' his job. If ya ever run into trouble, come to me. I'll look out for ya."

"Thanks Cid!" Sora said, voice bright with enthusiasm. He headed towards the door, waving slightly in the direction of the man. Together, the two friends exited the shop, ready to discover the new world.

Sora and Xion walked together in comfortable silence, making their way through the First District.

"Hey, Xion?" Sora asked, stopping shortly. His face showed his puzzlement as he stared at nothing.

"Yeah?" She hummed in response. She turned to notice that Sora had stopped abruptly in the middle of the stairs. He looked up, brows still furrowed in confusion.

"What were those things on the island? The black things?" He questioned, blue meeting blue as they made eye contact.

Xion sighed, thinking furiously. It's best for him to know what he's going up against early on. I should tell him. She sighed a second time, combing her hands through her hair.

"It's kinda a long explanation," She said, blowing a strand of hair out of her face. "Come with me, let's find a place to sit." The two continued walking, this time in a considerably less comfortable silence. They found a ledge and sat on it together. Coincidentally, the ledge happened to overlook the alleyway that they had found themselves in earlier that day.

"The things we saw on the island are commonly known as the Heartless among the worlds," She stated, face closing off and going into lecture mode. Sora raised an eyebrow at the odd name, but kept quiet.

"A Heartless is formed when a person's heart is consumed by the darkness. Usually, their darkness will take the form of a Shadow, which is what you saw. However, those who have more darkness in their hearts will take the form of more complex creatures, from Soldiers to Behemoths."

"Um, what's a Behemoth?" Sora interjected, looking more and more confused by the moment.

"They're much larger Heartless. We probably won't see one for a while so don't worry about them yet," She said, waving her hand slightly as she spoke.

"The Heartless have one goal, to find and consume other hearts, and eventually, the heart of the world. They are insatiable, and will relentlessly pursue their goal." Her voice turned serious at this point. "Our job as Keyblade wielders is to make sure that this never happens."

"What do you mean by Keyblade?" Sora asked tentatively, having never seen Xion this serious before in his life. Her lighthearted and joking comments were long gone, instead replaced by seriousness and solemnity.

"Let me show you." Xion stood from her perch on the ledge, her cloak swaying fluidly around her body. She held her hand out perpendicular to her body and closed her eyes, as if waiting for something. With a bright flash of light, Oblivion appeared in her hand. She opened her eyes, smiling with satisfaction.

"This is a Keyblade," She said, swinging the blade down towards her side. "And you have one of these too." The brunet boy's look of confusion and shock changed to one of understanding. He stood from his place on the ledge as well and stood next to Xion, holding out his arm in the same perpendicular fashion.

"So, how exactly do I do this?" He asked, a surprisingly shy and hesitant look on his normally animated face. Xion smiled at him in an attempt to reassure him.

"Here, I'll show you." She dismissed her Keyblade in another flash of light before bringing her arm up to mirror Sora's.

"First thing I want you to do is close your eyes." Sora nodded, and followed her instructions.

"Now take a few deep breaths and clear your mind. Focus on my voice and your breathing. Try to block out anything else." Her voice was soothing and helped Sora to relax.

"When you feel relaxed, I want you to look deep inside your heart. You should find a small spark of light. When you find that, grab onto it and pull." She dropped her arm and began to circle around him, watching as he followed her steps. After a few moments, Sora's face twitched and his Keyblade appeared in his hand. He opened his eyes and grinned when he saw the blade.

Xion smiled at his happiness and congratulated him. "So that is your Keyblade, and that was how you summon it. Over time, summoning it will become almost a second nature." Sora nodded again, this time much more enthusiastically.

"So, how is this connected to the Heartless?" He asked, holding up his Keyblade for emphasis.

"Well, this blade is especially important because it allows you to lock the hearts of the worlds," She explained. "By locking the heart of the world, it blocks it from the Heartless, so what happened to Destiny Islands can't happen there."

"Okay. So… when we travel to find Riku and Kairi, we can do that along the way, right?" He asked. Xion nodded, turning to walk towards the large doors labeled "Second District".

"Sounds like a plan to me. We might as well start looking for them now," She shrugged. Together, the two walked through the doors to the Second District. They walked out onto a sort of balcony overlooking the rest of the district. Shops lined the edges of the District, however, the entire area seemed to be completely deserted.

Xion stepped in front of Sora and spoke. "Something's not right here." The minute she finished her sentence, a dozen shadows appeared out of the ground.

In a flash of light, two Keyblades were summoned into the hands of their owners. "Here's your first test, Sora! Fight them as best you can!" Out of her peripheral vision, she could see him nod and dive headlong into the fight. The two finished off the shadows relatively quickly when another wave spawned in. Xion gripped her blade a little tighter, preparing herself. She was panting slightly, out of practice from fighting Heartless.

The two finished off the second wave together, and luckily, no more spawned in.

"Maybe we should head back," Sora panted, looking tired from the fight. He's gonna need a lot more training before we go anywhere. And plus, it's not like we have any means of transportation. She thought as she nodded in agreement.

The friends walked through the door leading to the First District, Sora leading the way. He was heading towards the Accessory Shop to check in with Cid a second time when they heard a voice.

"They'll come at you out of nowhere." The mysterious figure stood leaning against the wall of the shop, cloaked in shadow.

"Huh?" Sora asked, confusion coating his words.

The stranger took a few steps towards the duo, as if examining them. In the darkness of the night, it was difficult to see them, but the figure appeared to be male.

"And they'll keep on coming at you, as long as you continue to wield the Keyblade." His voice was quiet, yet carried across the distance between them.

Sora cut off the man before he had the chance to say anything else. "What, you mean the Heartless?" He asked, looking disbelievingly at the strange man.

The man started slightly at the word "Heartless". He stood rigid in his place, appearing to contemplate and recalculate his approach towards the two teens. He stepped out of shadow, approaching the two in silence.

He was tall, taller than either Sora or Xion expected. He had shoulder length brown hair that swayed with each step, and hard blue eyes that appeared cold and calculating. The man had a scar across one cheek, marring his otherwise unblemished face. He was holding a large blade that looked as if it had been meshed with a gun.

"But why," He murmured, further examining Sora's face. "Why would it choose a kid like you?"

With a bright flash of light and a flurry of movement, the strange man found the tip of a Keyblade pointed directly at his throat. Xion stood at the other end of Oblivion, blue eyes like chips of ice.

"I'd take a step back if I were you," She said quietly, voice as hard as steel.

The startled man, who had yet to give a name to either of them, hesitantly took a step back from the fuming teenage girl.

"How do you have one too?" He demanded, staring at the weapon in Xion's hand. With another flurry of light, the weapon was gone.

"That's none of your business," She said, still eyeing the man carefully. The man's eyes narrowed as he examined the two, as if searching for an answer that only they held the answer to. Without warning, the man raised his own weapon, and spoke.

"Now, let me see that Keyblade." Sora and Xion both materialized their weapons in a flash of light and prepared to fight.

"There's no way you're getting this!" Sora exclaimed, tightly gripping his weapon with both hands.

The scarred man made the first move. He lunged towards the two, blade outstretched. Sora jumped away from the blade, readying his own weapon. Xion, on the other hand, rolled to the side and slashed her Keyblade towards the man's side. Quickly recovering, the stranger spun his blade in a circle and brought it down towards Xion. Sora ran forward and slashed, attempting to take advantage of the stranger's split attention.

He grunted slightly as he was hit by Sora's Keyblade. Xion, thinking quickly, unleashed a rapid combo on the unsuspecting man. Clutching his side in pain, the man jumped out of range of the two teens. Breathing heavily, he aimed his blade at the duo, the tip of it beginning to glow. As the man released the bullets from his gunblade, Xion dodge rolled towards the man. One of the bullets had managed to clip her shoulder, but she pushed through the pain. As she pulled out of her roll, she placed her blade directly at the man's throat. A moment later, Sora, who had also dodged the bullets, had his Keyblade pressed against the man's back.

"Checkmate," Xion said, smiling mischievously. The man, knowing he had lost, dropped his blade and raised his hands up in a gesture of surrender. The destiny duo backed up and dismissed their weapons.

"Wow, you're slipping Leon." The teasing voice came out of nowhere, and startled Xion. She turned to see another black haired girl. She was wearing shorts, high socks, a crop top and a gloves.

"I went easy on him, Yuffie" The man, now known as Leon, said to the girl.

"Hmph, 'course you did," Yuffie said with a smile and a head tilt. "You just got your ass beat by a bunch of teenagers." She giggled slightly, giving Sora and Xion a thumbs up. Leon gave her an unamused look, and back turned to face Sora and Xion.

"So," Sora asked, head tilting slightly. "What exactly was that all about?" Leon shook his head slightly, and brushed a strand of brown hair out of his face.

"It was a test. There's some things we have to tell you. Come with us." He and Yuffie turned and began walking towards the steps of the accessory shop. Sora took a step forward, as if to follow them, but Xion grabbed his arm and yanked him backwards.

"How do we know we can trust you?" She said, staring at their retreating backs while Sora rubbed his arm where Xion had grabbed him, a look of pain on his face. Leon stopped at her words, and turned to face them.

"If it makes you feel any better," He remarked, face void of emotion. "I don't trust you either."

Xion nodded, and grabbed Sora's arm a second time, dragging him with her.

"Ow, Xion, stop that!" He said, slapping her hand away from his wrist and rubbing it gently.

Xion rolled her eyes and spoke. "God, you're such a pansy. Here." She threw up a cure spell, using Sora to hide the fact that she had healed herself as well.

"Thanks," Sora said, sending Xion a cheeky smile. The two friends walked behind Leon and Yuffie.

"You know," Sora remarked, shooting his black haired friend a sly look and a wiggle of his eyebrows. "If you keep manhandling me like that, I might get the wrong idea." Xion snapped her head towards him, a shocked look on her face. A small smile caught the corners of her lips.

"Please," She joked, sending him a haughty look. "You're not my type." Sora snickered quietly, laughing at her over the top acting skills.

"In here," Leon's voice brought Sora and Xion out of their conversation. They looked up to see Leon standing in front of a doorway. They seemed to be in some sort of an alleyway, and a sewer grate was located at the other end of the alley. The door they stood in front of was bright green and had the number 3 emblazoned on the front.

The two walked into the room together, and Xion began to examine her surroundings. Sora walked over and sat on the large bed that took up a large portion of the room. The room also contained a large table with a chest on the top. The chest seemed to have an ethereal, otherworldly glow to it. The rest of the room contained a clock on the wall and a few chairs.

Sora flopped down on the bed, attempting to rest his aching muscles. Xion walked over and gingerly sat beside him, trying to stay away from his sprawled limbs. Leon and Yuffie walked into the room as well, making themselves comfortable.

"So, we've got some things to discuss." Leon said, voice monotone and deadly serious. "That blade you have, the Keyblade, attracts the monsters you saw."

"Yeah, the Heartless." Sora interrupted, sitting up on the bed and leaning forward. "I already know all about them."

Leon raised an eyebrow. "I gathered that from our conversation earlier." He said, a slight sarcastic tone edging into his voice. "Every time you use that key, it attracts the Heartless. Now Yuffie and I were only counting on finding one Keyblade wielder, but it appears that we have two on our hands." Yuffie snorted a laugh at his words.

"Wow Squall, I never would have guessed." She said sarcastically, fidgeting slightly.

"It's Leon," He said, sounding slightly exasperated. "But because there are two Keyblade wielders instead of one, you're going to attract a lot more Heartless."

Xion nodded, contemplating his words. She opened her mouth as if to speak, but quickly closed in again. Sora nudged her slightly, causing her to look up.

"What're you thinking about?" Blue met blue as their eyes met.

"I-I dunno," She said quietly. "I was just thinking that if the Keyblade is what attracts the Heartless, then maybe one of us should use another weapon." She looked questioningly at Leon.

The tall brunet stood quietly for a moment, before nodding. "That could possibly work." His eyes flickered between the two friends sitting on the bed. "Which one of you is willing to give up your Keyblade, though?"

"I will," The two answers rang through the air simultaneously. Both Sora and Xion turned to look at each other in disbelief.

"You're definitely using the Keyblade," Sora stated. "You're way better at using it than I am. I'll be fine with something else."

"No," Xion replied, shaking her head vigorously. "I'm more proficient in magic than you are, so it's not as big of a deal if I have to use another weapon. Plus, I've been in this kind of situation before. You use the Keyblade." Plus, if you don't use it, who knows how that could affect the timeline?

"But-"

"No, Sora. You use the Keyblade. It chose you, after all." Xion's voice held no room for argument.

"Well, that settles it!" Yuffie interjected cheerfully. "Don't worry Xion, We can find you another weapon. Plus, the Keyblade did choose you, Sora."

Sora grumbled slightly, unhappy with the decision, but understood where they were coming from.

"So Xion, what type of weapon do you want to use?" Leon asked, gazing curiously in her direction. Xion sat quietly for a moment, thinking.

"Preferably, I'd like to use a weapon similar to a Keyblade," She said slowly, still deep in thought. "Although I wouldn't be adverse to a ranged weapon as well."

"How about something like my Shurikens?" Yuffie asked, simultaneously leaning forward and brushing a strand of short black hair behind her ear.

"I can try them," Xion said, shrugging. "But I don't think I have the coordination for that."

The four sat in silence, thinking of possible weapon choices.

"What about a staff?" Leon asked. "You said earlier you were proficient in magic."

"No," She said quickly. "I've experienced being drained of MP too often to be comfortable with that." The room was silent for a few moments before Sora's voice broke the stillness.

"What about a bow and arrow?" Xion was quiet for a moment before nodding her head.

"That might just work," She said, a small smile gracing her lips. She stood up from her spot on the bed, and smoothed out her cloak with her hands.

"I'm ready to get started when you are," Xion said, stretching her arms up above her head. Leon nodded and exited the room, leaving the door cracked behind him.

Sora still sat on the bed, the red of his outfit clashing horribly with the color of the bed. Xion raised an eyebrow at him.

"You know, if we're gonna be travelling to other worlds, you're gonna stick out like a sore thumb in that monstrosity." She eyed him up and down, grimacing as she examined his clothing.

"Whaddya mean?" Sora questioned, looking slightly offended at her suggestion.

Yuffie piped up from her spot by the door. "If you are looking for some clothing, I'm pretty sure the Moogles can fix you up something." Xion nodded her thanks at the suggestion as Leon walked back through the door.

He was carrying a beautifully crafted bow and a quiver of arrows. The bow was a dark wood, almost black in color, and each of the arrows looked to be hand crafted.

"Name it however you wish," Leon said, softly walking over to where Xion was standing. She stood quietly, soaking in the image of her new weapon. Leon held out the bow, prompting her to take the weapon.

Xion gently grasped the bow, testing the weight in her hands. She held it upright, and placed one of her hands on the wood, and the other on the string. She gently pulled the string back, testing the tension and the overall feel of the weapon.

"It fits you," Sora said, head slightly tilted in thought. Xion turned to look at him, giving him a questioning look.

He shrugged slightly. "I dunno, I can just see you using it," He answered.

"I think you should try it out," Leon said, opening the door for her. Xion nodded, and walked through the open door. As she walked into the alleyway, she tightened her grip on the bow. She turned back to see her three other companions standing in the alleyway as well. She held her hand out, silently asking Leon for the quiver of arrows.

Xion strapped the quiver to her back, and reached behind to grab an arrow.

"Well, here goes nothing," She said nervously, shooting a shaky smile to her companions. Sora gave her a large smile and a thumbs up. Smiling, she turned towards the end of the alleyway, and located a wooden sign hanging from the building. Choosing it as her target, she notched her arrow and pulled back on the string. She could feel her arms trembling with the tension of the bow string, and tried to steady her aim on the target.

With a noisy exhale, Xion released the arrow, letting it fly towards her target. The arrow flew through the air, missing her target completely. She huffed quietly, relaxing her arm and bringing her weapon down towards her side. She turned back towards her companions and gave them a shrug.

"Well, looks like there's gonna be a learning curve for both of us, Sora." He laughed good-naturedly, shrugging one of his shoulders.

"Guess we'll have to learn together," He said, a carefree smile on his face.

"Well," Yuffie said, clapping her hands together and a mischievous smirk on her face. "Let's get started."

The rattling sound of a soldier appearing startled the entire group.

"They're here," Leon said, drawing his gunblade. "We need to move, now."

Xion nodded her assent, and grabbed Sora by the forearm, still firmly holding her bow in her other hand. The group of four quickly made their way through to the Second District, trying to evade the various groups of Heartless.

They sprinted past the fountain and towards the back alleyway. Xion was completely lost at this point, and simply followed Yuffie and Leon. The group briefly stopped in front of a large door labeled "Third District". Leon yanked the door open, and the four tumbled through it, slamming it behind them the instant they were through.

Breathing a small sigh of relief, Sora plopped down onto the ground. The moment of silence between them, however, was broken by the sound of more Heartless appearing. Sora sprung to his feet quickly, and the other three readied their weapons once again.

"We can hold them off up here," Yuffie said, shooting Xion a confident look. "You two go down the stairs and find the entrance to the First District. You should be safe there." Xion nodded, and motioned to Sora for him to follow her.

The two friends ran down the stairs together, but found themselves surrounded by another group of Heartless.

"Round two?" Xion asked rhetorically. She readied her bow, which she had been holding. Sora shrugged, and summoned his Keyblade in a flash of white light and launched himself at the hoard of Heartless.

Xion readied her bow and nocked an arrow. She pulled back the string and aimed at one of the smaller shadows. Focus, Xion, She thought to herself. Breathe in, breathe out- With a twang, the arrow sailed through the air and clipped the leg of the Shadow. Well, better than last time, She thought with a shrug. She nocked another arrow and shot at another one of the Shadows, but missed, almost hitting Sora.

"Hey!" He yelled, dodging the misfired arrow. "Be careful with those things!" Xion grimaced at the near disaster, and decided she was better off using her Keyblade. She replaced her bow, and summoned her blade, joining the frenzied fight. Together, she and Sora finished off the last of them.

"You might wanna practice with that bow a little more first," Sora panted, taking a moment to catch his breath. "You nearly took my head off!" Xion nodded, panting heavily as well, with her arms behind her head.

A startled quack ended their moment rather quickly. A duck and what looked like an overlarge dog, at least at first glance, flew through the air and landed directly on Sora. He was knocked to the ground, the anthropomorphic animals laying dazedly on top of him.

A startled shout of "The key!" from both brought Xion back from her shocked stupor. The sound of more Heartless appearing caught the attention of all four present.

"Uh, not to ruin the moment or anything, but we've kinda got a bigger problem here." Xion said, fluidly pulling her bow out nocking an arrow. Sora nodded, and cautiously untangled himself from the two animals. He summoned his Keyblade, ready to fight the group of heartless. Xion threw a look behind her, noting that the duck and dog had also readied their weapons, and had begun to fight as well.

Together, the four finished off their enemies rather quickly, the swarm of shadows and soldiers dwindling. When the last Heartless had been eliminated, Sora banished his weapon and turned to look at the duck and dog.

"So, who exactly are-" His sentence was broken off by a deep rattling noise behind him. The brunet turned slowly to see an enormous rook shaped Heartless taking form behind him. He swallowed loudly, and glanced nervously at Xion, who stood beside him. The black haired girl simply sighed and readied another arrow.

"Well, looks like we've got another fight on our hands. You two up for it?" She asked the anthropomorphic animals. The duck squawked indignantly, "Of course we are! Don't doubt our skills, missy!" Xion simply raised an eyebrow and shot a weary look at Sora before turning back to the now fully formed Guard Armor.

Sora scored the first hit on their new enemy, choosing to focus on the left foot. The two animals on the other hand, chose to focus on the right foot. This left Xion to focus her attacks on the increasingly annoying arms. She shot a few arrows at the arms, each of her arrows barely clipping her enemy. She mumbled to herself in frustration before putting away her bow and summoning her Keyblade.

Taking a running jump, the black haired female launched herself at the Heartless, swiftly taking care of the right arm. She then turned to focus her attention on the left arm, only to find Sora already taking care of business. She smiled slightly, before joining him on his barrage. The two quickly took care of the left arm together, and shifted their focus to the torso.

Xion quickly glanced around to monitor the progress of the two animals, only to find that they were still fighting the right foot with difficulty. She grimaced, and shouted "Sora! Go help them with the right foot! I'll handle the torso." Sora frowned, but nodded his assent and joined the other two in their fight against the right foot.

Xion, now alone in her fight against the torso, began to struggle. One well timed attack from the Guard Armor sent her flying away from the group. She winced, feeling the full brunt of her injuries. She cast cure and drew her bow once more. She nocked an arrow and pulled back on the bow string, an idea popping into her head. Just before releasing the arrow, she murmured a fire spell, lighting the tip of the arrow on fire. The now flaming arrow hit the heartless on the head, igniting it. Must've been a lucky shot, she thought to herself, shrugging slightly.

Sora and the others had completed their attack on the foot, and shifted their efforts to the torso as well. The duck, already appearing to be tiring out, went flying as they were hit dead on by an attack. Xion cursed, rushing over to where their prone body lay. After a hasty examination, she determined that the duck was simply unconscious. Breathing a sigh of relief, Xion cast cure on him, and then turned back to continue fighting, only to find Sora finishing off their enemy.

With the final blow, the Guard Armor began to shake violently, and the head fell off with a loud clanging noise. Sora took a few steps back to avoid being hit by falling debris. A bright shining light emanated from the top of the Guard armor, a heart floating out from the top. When the light faded, the heartless had disappeared.

"So," Sora said, resting his Keyblade on his shoulders. "You were looking for me?"

Xion narrowed her eyes. "More like they were looking for the Keyblade." For some reason, she simply didn't feel like she could trust them. There was something off about their presence, something that made her nervous.

Sora dropped his arms, frowning slightly. "Don't be mean, Xion."

She snorted. "I'm not being mean," She said bitingly. "I'm simply being realistic." The duck squawked angrily at her words, and put his hands on his hips.

"Now see here missy, Goofy and I were sent by the King himself to find this key!" He said heatedly.

Xion crossed her arms, eyes icy with anger. "So what, now that you've found "the key" you're just going to force him to come with? You don't even know his name let alone anything else about him."

The dog, who was standing behind the duck, looked increasingly more and more uncomfortable.

"Uh, Donald, don'tcha think we should ask him if he wants to come with us?" He asked tentatively.

"Of course he does, Goofy!" The duck, now known as Donald, snapped, barely throwing a glance in Goofy's direction.

"You do want to come with us, right?" he asked, suddenly looking slightly nervous.

"Uh," Sora said, looking extremely anxious and confused. "I mean-"

"Our answer is no," Xion said definitively. Sora turned towards her, a pleading look on his face.

"But Xion-"

"No" She said, interrupting him. "We aren't traveling with them."

"This might be our only chance to find Riku and Kairi!" Sora exclaimed, his fists clenching and dismissing his Keyblade. Xion sighed heavily, dragging a hand through her hair.

"You know, why don't you come with us? We can go to other world on our vessel." Goofy piped up. Donald nodded.

"Of course. We could help you find your friends." He said, ruffling his feathers slightly.

"Are you sure…?" Goofy whispered.

Donald shrugged. "Who knows? But we need him to come with us to help us find the King." He whispered back, attempting to keep his voice low.

In a flurry of movement, Xion grabbed the front of Donald's shirt and lifted him to eye level. "The King, huh? What does he want with Sora?!" The duck began to thrash in an attempt to loosen her grip on his clothing, but it was no use.

"Xion!" Sora shouted, leaning forward to try and remove her hold on Donald's clothing.

Her eyes narrowed and her grip tightened before abruptly letting go. Donald collapsed onto the ground, breathing heavily. Xion gazed down at his prone body, and spoke softly.

"I don't know who you are, or what you want," She hissed, voice as hard as steel. "But, rest assured, I will not let you use Sora."

Goofy, who had been frozen in fear for the entire encounter, nodded hurriedly, and quickly helped Donald off the ground.

The two hurried away, throwing hasty glances behind them. Sora and Xion stood in silence, watching the walk away. Once they were out of sight however, Sora turned to Xion and slapped her on the shoulder.

"What the heck, Xion!" The black haired girl turned, startled at her friend's outburst.

"What!" She exclaimed, rubbing her arm. "I wasn't just going to go with them! Who knows what would have happened!"

Sora stared at her, eyes brimming with tears of frustration. "That could've been our only chance to find them!"

"Sora-" She said, her face crumbling, and reached out towards him. As she reached out, Sora took a step back, hands clenching into fists. He closed his eyes tightly, seemingly in an attempt to regain control over his emotions.

It was silent for a moment, simply the two friends under the dark night sky. Xion took a shaky breath, her head tilting up to look at the stars.

"We'll find them," She murmured, shoving one of her hands into her coat. In her peripheral vision, she could see Sora shift beside her, looking at the stars as well.

"We'll do it together." Her voice echoed through the empty district. She turned to Sora, giving him a small smile.

"I know we will," He said, tearing his gaze from the heavens above them. He gave her a searching look, before turning and walking towards the First District.

The black haired girl sighed loudly, pushing her hand through her hair. Well, She thought. That went well. Not. After a moment of deliberation, Xion sighed again and followed Sora's retreating form to the First District.


End file.
